The new Skylake/Kaby Lake/Coffee Lake microcode updates have been distributed to Intel's OEM partners, who will then distribute them via BIOS updates for customers. "This represents our sixth, seventh and eighth generation Intel Core product lines, as well as our latest Intel Core X-series processor family".

The company had initially issued firmware updates for machines with its Broadwell, Haswell, Skylake, Kaby Lake, and Coffee Lake processors to address the Spectre/Meltdown chip flaws early this year, but was forced to pull the microcode after it caused systems to crash and reboot. The patch is for the Skylake generation (late 2015) and newer, though most users will still have to wait for the code to be implemented by whoever manufactured their computer (specifically, their motherboard).

In an updated patch roadmap, Intel indicates that beta patches for Broadwell, Haswell, Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge-based systems are in the works.

"This effort has included extensive testing by customers and industry partners to ensure the updated versions are ready for production", Intel's executive vice president and general manager of the Data Center Group, Navin Shenoy, said in a blog post. Again, I extend my honest appreciation to all Intel customers and industry partners for their ongoing support.

"We are mindful of the fact that, in some cases, there are multiple mitigation techniques available that may provide protection against these exploits", added Shenoy.